Cowboy wins co-main; Bosse claims thriller

Former lightweight contender Donald Cerrone appears to have found a home at 170 pounds, as he picked up his second win and second finish in the welterweight division, stopping Patrick Cote in the third round of their UFC Fight Night bout at Ottawa’s TD Place Arena on Saturday.

The victory tied Cerrone with Demian Maia for fourth most wins in UFC history with 17.

Cote came out aggressively, maybe too aggressively, as Cerrone used his opponent’s forward motion to score a takedown. Cote worked well off his back and eventually worked back to his feet. He wasn’t up for long though, as Cerrone landed another takedown at the midway point of the round. A minute later, Cerrone took Cote’s back and nearly locked in a rear naked choke, but the Canadian fought free and made it through the round.

Cerrone kept the focus on his standup game in round two and it paid dividends, especially when he dropped Cote with a left with under two minutes left. Cote survived the follow-up from Cerrone, who kept peppering his foe for the rest of the frame.

The left produced another knockdown early in round three, and the steel-chinned Cote survived once more, even though he was far behind on the scorecards at this point. But the judges would not be needed in this one, as another left followed by a right hand put Cote down, and this time, the follow-up barrage was enough to prompt referee Yves Lavigne to halt the bout at the 2:35 mark.

The bout between Sean O’Connell and Steve Bosse was expected to deliver fireworks, and it most certainly did, with the two light heavyweight power punchers thrilling the Ottawa crowd for 15 action-packed minutes. When it was over, Bosse got the unanimous decision, but there were no losers in this one.

Scores were 29-28 twice and 29-27 for Bosse, now 12-2; O’Connell falls to 17-8.

It only took around 30 seconds for the bombs to start flying, and each fighter had his chin checked in the subsequent exchanges. In the second minute, O’Connell landed a series of lefts that sent Bosse to the deck hard. Bosse remarkably recovered and got back to his feet, even landing a hard right before the two separated. O’Connell continued to rattle the Canadian with the left hand, but Bosse kept firing back with haymakers of his own, the crowd roaring at the horn.

Bosse appeared to be the fresher fighter as round two commenced, and he rocked O’Connell twice before the Utah product threw a kick and was instead sent to the canvas. O’Connell tried to land kicks from his back as Bosse delivered thunder from above. With 30 seconds left, the two managed to make it upright, and they slugged it out again just before the end of the stanza.

The exchanges continued in the third and final round, and it was clear that Bosse had more zip left on his punches. O’Connell, bothered by a bloody – and possibly broken - nose, still had a potent left hand, and he wasn’t shy about using it to remind “The Boss” that he wasn’t going away without a fight. Not surprisingly, the two stood and traded to end the bout, drawing a well-deserved standing ovation from the packed house.

AUBIN-MERCIER vs. GOUTI

Canadian lightweight prospect Olivier Aubin-Mercier earned his first submission victory in over a year, finishing France’s Thibault Gouti in the third round.

Aubin-Mercier’s striking looked sharp early, and he used his kicks to set up a takedown. Gouti responded well on the mat, even getting the top position briefly, where he stunned the Canadian with some ground strikes. Gouti also scored well on the feet in the closing stages of the round, as Aubin Mercier’s defense got more porous.

Both fighters got in their share of shots in the first half of round two before Aubin-Mercier put his foe on the deck. This time, the Montrealer was able to keep Gouti grounded for an extended period of time as he worked his ground-and-pound until the end of the frame.

Getting the bout back to the mat as soon as round three began, Aubin-Mercier took Gouti’s back and went to work. From there, it was just a matter of time until “The Quebec Kid” sunk in the rear naked choke that produced the tap out at 2:28 of the final round.

CALDERWOOD vs. LETOURNEAU

In the first women’s flyweight bout in UFC history, Scotland’s Joanne Calderwood scored an impressive third-round knockout of former strawweight title challenger Valerie Letourneau.

The fight went back and forth in the early going, but Calderwood drew first blood with a spinning backfist that nearly knocked Letourneau out. The Montreal native took some hard ground strikes but recovered, searching for a submission from her back. With a minute left, the two fighters rose, and both landed hard shots before the horn sounded.

In round two, Letourneau showed no ill effects from the previous round’s knockdown, and she stood right in the pocket and fired away at Calderwood. The Glasgow native eventually found enough space to land her shots from range, and she then scored a takedown. Letourneau coolly worked her way back to her feet, but Calderwood caught an ensuing kick and put “Trouble” on the deck once more. The round ended on the feet, both fighters throwing and landing.

A kick to the body in the second minute of the final frame visibly hurt Letourneau, and while she seemingly recovered, a left kick downstairs later in the round forced Letourneau to wince in pain and turn her back. After a follow-up attack from Calderwood, Valel finally intervened as Letourneau fell to the canvas. 2:51 was the official time.

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